Yen keeps to three-and-a-half-week minimum

On Tuesday, the Japanese yen stood close to 3-1/2-week minimum on a combination of growing hopes for monetary easing by the BOJ, a broad recovery in risk appetite as well as speculation regarding M&A-related yen-selling.

The New Zealand dollar appeared to be one of the major movers in early Asian trade. It dropped abruptly after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand had accelerated its efforts to impose new curbs on a hot housing market. That’s another move closer towards a rate cut.

The Japanese yen was worth 106.20 yen to the greenback, having sagged to as low as 106.33 in early trade, hitting its lowest value since June 24.

It’s currently backed up at its 55-day moving average at 106.34, though a break of this level could prompt investors to test its June 24 minimum of 106.875.

Speculators have been circulating that the Bank of Japan is going to further ease its monetary policy at the rate review on July 29, because the government in Tokyo is working on a new fiscal stimulus to boost the Japanese economy.